


Ad libbing

by OMGitsgreen



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, Gender Roles, OT5 Friendship, Original Dragon Warriors - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsgreen/pseuds/OMGitsgreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Needlework, Abi knew like the back of his hand. The art of conversation, poetry, tea-ceremony, dance, song, and theater were all things that Abi had down to perfection. Being a warrior and swinging around a sword and rolling around in the mud? That was one area in which Abi was not proficient in, nor did he have the desire to be." Before becoming the Seiryuu, Abi lived a very different life, and he comes to the conclusion that perhaps that doesn't void either experience. Original Dragon Warrior Drabble</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ad libbing

**Author's Note:**

> A quick little drabble based on my headcanon, an imagining of Abi if he had previously been an onnagata, or a male actor who specialized in female roles, before becoming the Seiryuu. On another note, this version of Abi is very contrary, very haughty, and more then a little bit of a self-aware hot mess. But for some reason that just makes me love him. The sass is alive within him. 
> 
> Side note, thank you to the lovely murkymuse for letting me use the name “Bora” as the bird’s name and blessing me with her Abi Queenliness on this endeavor. As well as mcgrillzdumpinc for helping me through my grammatical disaster.

When Abi had drank the blood of the Blue Dragon, Abi hadn’t quite known what he was to get himself into. That was of course understandable, after all how any mortal could know the desires of the gods was beyond them. All Abi had known was that he was taking the Dragon’s blood in order to become a Dragon Warrior and protect King Hiryuu, in return for great power and prestige. Of course Abi couldn’t turn down such an honor, an honor that would inscribe his name into the history of the world. Yes, Abi would admit pride was one of his faults. It had gotten him into plenty of messes before. It was his pride that had led him to drinking the Dragon’s blood and then going on this strange adventure, and it was his pride which had gotten him stuck in this certain predicament.

Before that adventure, Abi had plainly know the place in the world he occupied. One could say that Abi had been the son of a tradesmen, but the trade was what led to his unusual upbringing. Abi’s family had been that of an influential theater company in a large city in the south. Abi, from a young age had been trained to be an onnagata, or rather, a female performer (as only males could be actors traditionally) after he had demonstrated his talent from a young age. Abi had been living the part of an onnagata on and off the stage by the orders and tradition of both his father and the clan, in order to perfect the act and the subtleties of womanhood. For all intents and purposes, Abi had been a woman. Trained in dance and song and the art of conversation and poetry, applied both mannerisms and proper mode of speech and movement, upon the stage Abi had been a sensation. After all, as theater was an imitation of life so that the audience forgot the bounds of the world, Abi was the perfect imitation of a woman. Abi had been good at what she had done, and with it had brought her family prestige and extravagant wealth. 

But that performer Abi, and the Abi who now walked the camps of a military base were different people. They had to be. They had to function within different roles for different purposes and with different people. However, unfortunately, this new Abi was dealing with things that he had no skill at whatsoever as he was stopped by a general. 

“Lord Seiryuu, we should like you to begin instructing and working with our soldiers at next dawn,” One of Hiryuu’s generals had said to him, making Abi break out in a cold sweat as for a moment his panic override his senses, rushed in his ears, and made his heart leap into his throat. He swallowed it back as quickly as it came.

“Is Hakuryuu or Ryokuryuu not available for instruction?” Abi asked tightly, not allowing his nerves to break his perfectly constructed mask and air of authority. 

“They are, of course, but they are inundated with soldiers. And Lord Ouryuu refuses to lead any exercises.”

“Of course he does,” Abi couldn’t help but hiss in annoyance, causing the general to take a nervous step back. Abi paid him no mind, after all men who couldn’t hold their nerve in front of him weren’t worth his time. “Very well, I shall see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Lord Seiryuu,” The General said with a bow before Abi turned quickly upon his heel and walked back into his tent before closing it with an exasperated grunt (almost hearing his father begin to lecture him on proper behavior as he did so). Abi, as he rubbed his temples, began to pace at a furious rate back and forth within the enclosed space. 

Needlework, Abi knew like the back of his hand. The art of conversation, poetry, tea-ceremony, dance, song, and theater were all things that Abi had down to perfection. Being a warrior and swinging around a sword and rolling around in the mud? That was one area in which Abi was not proficient in, nor did he have the desire to be. His newfound way of fighting, though faulty in certain respects, was the kind which best suited him. Day to day, Abi could portray the character he had described to the others of a noble’s son (after all it wasn’t necessarily a lie, his family had been influential and well off and a force to be reckoned with in the city, but, perhaps not the official side). But there did come some certain expectations with that, which was the hole he had currently dug himself into. Most noble sons were educated in swordplay and the art of war as a pastime, but he had been raised as a noble’s daughter with none of that education.

His friend and companion Bora chirped from the stand Abi had set up, and flew over to Abi’s free hand as he held it out to her. Abi sat down with a huff, folding his legs and brushing out his robes meticulously.

“What should I do, Bora?” Abi asked the bird with a heavy sigh. “I barely command respect from the others now. If they found out, oh Gods, I can just hear that sharp-toothed heathen’s laugh!”

The bluebird cocked its head and chirped at Abi and Abi just scoffed.

“Well, it’s not as if I am ashamed. No, in fact I was a great actress. I have no shame in my previous profession or identity. To be honest, I do not care if people take me to be one way or the other. I just cannot bear the thought of being seen as untrustworthy or being useless to King Hiryuu.” 

Bora hopped off Abi’s hand and flew to where Abi kept her grain, as Abi fell back onto his cot.

“A warrior…” Abi murmured to himself, staring past the tent’s fabric and to the open sky. Abi’s brother and cousins had been warriors, or at least had portrayed the parts upon the stage. But acting and the real thing were quite different. Adlibbing though was something that Abi was very proficient in. As his father had drilled into Abi during his apprenticeship, if one forgot their lines upon the stage, all one needed to do was speak and portray the character with confidence and fill in the gaps. As long as an actor could do so, no one was the wiser. Especially not men with muscles and pointy things on the brain. Lies were easy, for as long as they were kept close to the truth they could be believed. And men would believe whatever they wanted to believe and whatever was most convenient to them.

Abi now had to be that sort of man. Not that he hadn’t always been a man physically, but for all intents and purposes he had been living as a woman since he began his onnagata training at four years old. But now he had to be the type of man that he had no ability to be, a warrior.

Or did he?

A scheme came to mind almost as soon as the thought came.

He immediately sat up, despite the dizziness of the sudden motion, and half jumped to catch his companion in the air and kiss her upon her little feathered head.

“You are a genius, my friend!” Abi said as the bird tweeted in return as he let go of her, and she fluttered to rest upon his shoulder as he walked out of the tent. At his confident and meaningful gate, soldiers under their command quickly parted for him when necessary. Abi made his way to Guen’s tent, breathing in for a moment to collect himself, before pulling aside the tarp.

Guen looked up from his paperwork which he had been scratching his head over and his face broke out into a wide grin.

“Ah! Seiryuu! What can I do for you?”

“Do you have time to speak?” Abi asked him and Guen blinked in surprise and obvious delight. 

“Of course!” Guen said with a merry laugh before motioning next to him. Abi sat down, smoothing out his robes as he sat with his legs tucked beneath him and his hands folded on his lap, Bora fluttered over to the table. “Relax, Seiryuu! You are always so formal! Learn to relax or else you will scare away all your prospects.”

“It is not in my nature,” Abi huffed before saying, “I need your help.”

“Anything,” Guen said without a moment of hesitation and Abi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was so like Guen. Such a fool—a heartfelt fool, but a fool nonetheless—a part of Abi chastised the man. If he kept talking like this, he would only set himself up to be taken advantage of.

“I…I was asked to lead training with the troops,” Abi explained, “but I find myself ill-suited to the job.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you see, I was never instructed in swordplay.”

“You weren’t?” Guen asked, not sounding shocked to Abi’s inherent annoyance. What? he wanted to ask, do I not look proper to swordplay? despite it being completely irrational to be upset because it was true. “Any reason for that?”

“Well, it was because my constitution had never been good as a child,” which was a complete lie on Abi’s part but unfortunately necessary, “so my father forbid me from most exercise,” this wasn’t a lie as Abi had indeed been forbidden from exercise outside of dance to preserve his slender figure, “and so it leaves me at a…disadvantage currently when it comes to instructing the soldiers.”

“I see,” Guen said with a serious hum. “Then how about we trade?”

“Trade?”

“You do my paperwork, and I will teach you swordplay. I was also thinking of having Ouryuu learn as well. You and him can split up my paper work!”

“Is this just you trying to get out of paperwork, Hakuryuu?” Abi accused him and Guen gave a wide smile and threw his arm around Abi, making Abi’s skin crawl. “Personal space, Hakuryuu!”

“Come now, Seiryuu! You scratch my back I scratch yours!”

“You would rip me open! And stop crushing me!” Abi hissed as he tried to get away from Guen’s hearty embrace.

“Oh have a little fun!”

“Fun is not—get off!” Abi huffed before managing to separate himself from Guen’s hearty embrace and half fall out the tent, and bump right into Shuten with Zeno trailing immediately behind. Abi righted himself immediately, feeling himself prickle at Shuten’s smile. “Well what is it?”

“Don’t worry, Seiryuu, you can leave the fighting to the real men,” Shuten scoffed, making Abi’s ears go hot with indignation.

“If being a real men entails lacking all manners and dignity, then I want nothing to do with it.” Abi said coldly. “I have no desire to learn swordsmanship. Feel free to mock me all you wish.”

“I’m just saying it out of concern for you, wouldn’t wish for your sensibilities to be violated and for you to faint on the battlefield anymore then you already do.”

“And I’m just saying out of concern for you, keep insulting me and you will be on the ground!”

“And you’ll be following right after!”

“If we’re going to fight, let me in on it!” Guen said as he held up his arm.

“You guys, please…” Zeno tried to say weakly. Abi looked between all of them, his gaze flitting from overeager Guen, to irritating Shuten, to meekly Zeno, before marching right past them.

“If you need me, I will be in my quarters!” Abi announced as his blood boiled. “But unless an invasion is impending you are not welcome!”

* * *

Abi, later on, had snuck out of his tent to get some air. He sat alone, in a tree’s roots, watching as Bora happily flitted up the branches. Abi was glad, at least, that Bora was happy. 

It was his fault, he thought with a sigh. Abi knew he was deficient when it came to interacting outside of his assigned role. But that was gone, all the years and effort he had put into his craft had left him uncultivated. Abi the Onnagata had been graceful and personable and the epitome of fine breeding, while Abi the Seiryuu was irritable, sulky, quick-tempered, and prideful without anything to show for it. It was no wonder, Abi thought, that people were wary of him. He was downright awful.

Abi was in the midst of these self-depreciating thoughts as he noted familiar footsteps. He did not move as his king walked up beside him.

“Abi,” Hiryuu’s voice came like a summer’s breeze. Abi looked up to meet his gaze before looking back over the vast plains. “You weren’t at dinner, I was worried something was wrong.”

“I wasn’t hungry,” Abi huffed. “Can’t a person have a moment of peace around here?”

“Forgive me for intruding, but more than anything I wished to share this moment of peace with you,” Hiryuu said, sitting beside him. Abi felt himself soften, the stupid blood’s fault no doubt, he thought as he continued to look forward. “So tell me, what is it on your mind, Abi? It’s always better to share, even if you don’t think things will change.”

“I…” Abi wanted nothing more than to spill the contents of his heart to Hiryuu, as was the fault of his blood and only that. But he held his tongue, and collected and rearranged his thoughts into something more appropriate. “I feel restless.”

“Restless?”

“Before all of this, I knew what was expected of me. My father was very strict, a great man, but very strict. I did as I was told, performed as he instructed. My whole life was laid out in front of me…and it terrified me.”

“Terrified you?” Hiryuu asked sounding concerned.

Abi didn’t answer, frustrated at himself for speaking such words. They were his concerns, and should not be those of an airheaded king. He shouldn’t need to rely on him, or the comfort of anyone for that matter. He didn’t need to be seen as weak. 

“My king,” Abi said as he looked to him. “Do you believe people can change?”

“The thing that I’ve found impressive about humans is, that they are able to change,” Hiryuu promised, “that is the one thing that is forever certain. People can change, whereas Gods cannot. Even if it is the littlest bit, or the biggest step, I believe without a shadow of a doubt, if you put your mind to it that you can.”

For a moment silence hung between them. 

“…do you know what a warrior is?”

“I believe, Abi, that the answer is one only you can come to realize,” Hiryuu promised him. “Though, if it is any comfort, I wouldn’t wish for anyone else to be by my side. For I already believe you to be one of the fiercest who has ever walked upon the earth.”

“If you think I am fierce upon the battle field, you should have seen me on the stage,” Abi couldn’t help but chuckle.

* * *

The next morning, Abi walked to the clearing where soldiers did their drills usually, only to find Zeno attempting to do drills, Guen overseeing him, and Shuten perched in the tree like a ridiculous sharp-toothed squirrel. They both turned in surprise at Abi’s presence as Abi sat down in a dry patch with Bora fluttering upon his shoulder and gave them both a scoff.

“I am only here to discern if Guen is an appropriate teacher,” Abi said haughtily with his nose crinkling at the scent of sweat and muck. “I shall observe today. If I find you well enough, I might consider joining.”

“Of course!” Guen said brightly, as if not even registering Abi’s roll of his eyes, and Zeno’s mouth curled into a smile that flashed in the sunlight.

“Join me soon, maybe he’ll go easier on me!” Zeno playfully complained as Guen reached over to ruffle his wild mane.

“I would pay my weight in gold to see the sweet prince swinging a sword around,” Shuten said with a laugh as he took a swig from a flask and Abi stood up and kicked the tree. 

“Come down here so I can stick you with it!”

“It is so wonderful to see my dragons getting along in the morning,” Hiryuu’s voice came as he descended down the hill and they all stared at him.

“Who exactly is getting along here?” Shuten demanded. “Stop spouting non-hey WOAH!”

Shuten half yelped as Abi grabbed a rock and threw it, the pebble hitting Shuten square in the shoulder and popped off without damage. But it was the surprise of the attack that caused Shuten to pitch sharply and fall out of the tree and land on his behind in the trough of water set up for the soldiers. At the sight of him stuck and soaking wet, Guen and Zeno broke out into a loud burst of laughter until Zeno was clutching his side on the ground. Hiryuu tried to hide his laughter behind his hand, and Abi just looked off to the side with a saintly expression.

“Forgive me, Ryokuryuu, I believed your warrior nerves were made of steel.”

“Oh you little, take this!” Ryokuryuu said standing up and kicking the water with his dragon leg, causing a wave to smack both Hiryuu and Abi. As Shuten cackled, Guen dumped a bucket on him from behind, causing Shuten to retaliate and hit both Guen and Zeno.

The water fight ended with all of them soaked, laughing, shivering, and the camp doctor giving them an earful about maintaining proper health. For a moment, maybe, they all shared a look of amusement.

And it was then, Abi thought, that though these men were incomprehensible, uncivilized, and everything he was not. Maybe, somehow, they could at least find some common ground even if it meant Abi having to make up things as he went on their journey together.


End file.
